Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Q School Primer: Answers to the key questions

The goal of each first-stage participant is to eventually advance to the final stage of q-school.

The first stage of the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament -- otherwise known as q-school -- begins this week.

It's not a school in the traditional sense of the word but the lessons learned while competing certainly can be life-changing. In reality, q-school is a survival test of as many as four tournaments that will eventually determine the players who earn their PGA TOUR cards for the 2011 season.

The first three stages -- pre-qualifying, first stage and second stage -- consist of 72-hole tournaments. The pre-qualifying stage, which is for players with no prior history of competition, took place in mid-September.

Business now gets really serious with the start of the first stage, which will be held on 13 different courses across the country in the next two weeks. A predetermined number of players from each first stage event advance to one of the six second-stage venues in mid-November. The second-stage survivors then move on to the all-important final stage at Orange County National in Winter Garden, Fla. The final stage will be held Dec. 1-6.

That finale is contested over 108 mind-numbing and stomach-churning holes that determine where a player will work in 2011. Every player who reaches the finale has some degree of status on the Nationwide Tour -- but only the low 25 and ties are exempt on the PGA TOUR for next year.

PGATOUR.COM answers some key questions about q-school below.

Q. How many first stage events are there?

A. There are 13 first-stage events with fields of approximately 78 players at each one. First stage events are being held in seven different states from Oct. 19-22, 26-29 and 27-30.

Q. How many players advance from each first-stage event?

A. Generally the low 19, 20 or 21 players and ties at each site will advance to the second stage.

Q. Is there any live scoring for the three stages of qualifying school?

A. Yes, right here at PGATOUR.COM. Players' scores will be updated after they complete nine holes during the first and second stages. We will have live, hole-by-hole scoring for all six rounds of the final stage.

Q. Who are some of the notable players entered in the first stage?

A. There are several players with family ties to notable golfers. Among them are Jay Haas Jr. (whose brother Bill won twice on the PGA TOUR this year and father Jay has won 23 times on the PGA TOUR and Champions Tour);Mike Perez (whose brother is veteran Pat Perez;) Boyd Summerhays (whose uncle Bruce Summerhays plays the Champions Tour); Manuel Villegas (whose brother is three-time TOUR champ Camilo Villegas); Patrick Damron(whose brother Robert Damron is a past TOUR winner); Josh McCumber (whose uncle is veteran TOUR and Champions Tour pro Mark McCumber); Mario Tiziani (who is the brother-in-law of Steve Stricker); and Sam Saunders (whose grandfather is Arnold Palmer). Other players to watch include double heart-transplant survivorErik Compton; former U.S. Amateur champ Danny Lee; Virginia Tech's Drew Weaver, who won the 2007 British Amateur; Todd Demsey, who overcame a brain tumor to play professional golf; and Kevin Hall, who would be the first deaf golfer to play on the PGA TOUR.

Q. Besides the United States, how many countries are represented at the first stage?

A. Players from 15 different countries will be competing. Those countries are Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, Belgium, Venezuela, New Zealand, Australia, Colombia, Jamaica, South Africa, England, South Korea and the Virgin Islands.

Q. Which TOUR legend has designed two of the golf courses hosting first-stage events?

A. That's Arnold Palmer. He was the architect for the Palmer Course at Turtle Bay Resort on the island of Oahu and the Dayton Valley Golf Club in Dayton, Nev. Other player designs being used during the first stage are the Club at Irish Creek, a Davis Love III creation in Kannapolis, N.C., and Grasslands Golf and Country Club in Lakeland, Fla., which was designed by Jerry Pate and Bob Cupp.

Q. Who is exempt into the first stage of qualifying?

A. Here's the list:

• Members of any of the International Federation of PGA Tours or Nationwide Tour during 2006-2010.

• Applicants who made the cut during 2009 or 2010 in a tournament awarding official money conducted by a member of the International Federation of PGA Tours or Nationwide Tour as of the q-school entry deadline of Sept. 29, 2010.

• Applicants who finished in the top 60, including ties, in 2008 or in the top 50, including ties, in 2009 in a first stage event of the PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament.

• Applicants who played in the second stage of the 2007, 2008 or 2009 PGA TOUR National Qualifying Tournament.

• Applicants ranked Nos. 101-200 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of the q-school entry deadline.

• Applicants who made the cut at the 2010 PGA Professional National Championship.

• Applicants who finished in the top 10, including ties, at the 2009 PGA Assistant Professional National Championship.

• Applicants who played in the 2009 or 2010 Masters Tournament, U.S. Open, British Open or PGA Championship.

• Applicants who were members of the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup Team or 2008 U.S. World Amateur Team.

• Applicants who played in the semifinals of the 2009 or 2010 U.S. Amateur or the finals of the 2009 U.S. Mid-Amateur.

Q. How does the second stage work?

A. The second-stage tournaments are held from Nov. 16-19 and No. 17-20 at six sites in four states. The competition heats up here since PGA TOUR members who finished outside the top 150 on the money list join the competition. Again, only a predetermined number from each site advance. This might be the most pressure-packed of all the stages because if you don't advance, you are looking at the mini-tours in 2011.

Q. Which players are exempt into the second stage?

A. Here's the list:

• 2010 PGA TOUR members

• Winners of Nationwide Tour tournaments whose victories are considered official, in the current calendar year plus the previous five (2005-2009) calendar years.

• The top 10 available finishers, including ties, to a floor of 25th position, from the current year's PGA Professional National Championship.

• Applicants who made the cut in the current year's Masters Tournament, PLAYERS Championship, U.S. Open, British Open or PGA Championship.

• The leading fourth through 10th available players to a floor of 25th position, on the PGA European Tour and Japan Golf Tour respective official money lists as of the q-school entry deadline (Sept. 29, 2010) and the Australasian PGA Tour final official money list from the 2009 season.

• Players who have made 50 or more cuts in PGA TOUR cosponsored or approved tournaments awarding official prize money in their careers as of the q-school entry deadline.

• Players who finish from 41st through 70th on the 2010 official Nationwide Tour money list.

• Those applicants ranked 51st through 100th on the Official World Golf Ranking as of the q-school entry deadline.

• The leading first and second available players, to a floor of 10th position, on the applicable official money list or order of merit as of the q-school entry deadline of each of the following international tours: Asian Tour, Canadian Tour, Tour de las Americas and from the Sunshine Tour's final official money list for the 2009 season.

Q. Which players are exempt into the final stage at Orange County National?

A. Here's the list:

• Those applicants ranked from Nos. 126-150 on the final 2010 official PGA TOUR money list.

• Those Special Temporary members of the PGA TOUR whose combined official money and money earned in official money World Golf Championship events is equal to or greater that the 150th place finisher on the 2010 official PGA TOUR money list.

• Those applicants among Major and Minor Medical Extension category members whose official money earned in their available tournaments, when combined with the amount of official money in their tournaments played, equals or exceeds the amount of official money earned by the member who finished 150th on the PGA TOUR money list for the preceding calendar year shall be exempt into final stage in that year provided that the official money earned in his tournaments played is less that the 150th finisher on the PGA TOUR money list in the year of the applicant's injury.

• Those applicants finishing 26th through 40th on the final 2010 Nationwide Tour money list.

• The leading first, second and third available players, to a floor of 10th position, on the PGA European Tour and Japan Golf Tour respective official money list as of the q-school entry deadline and the Australasian PGA Tour final official money list from the 2009 season.

• Those applicants among the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking as of the q-school entry deadline.

Q. If you don't get your TOUR card but reach the final stage, what happens?

A. After the PGA TOUR cards have been decided, the next number of players nearest to 50 will receive fully exempt membership on the Nationwide Tour. The remaining players who have made it to the final stage of q-school will have conditionally exempt status on the Nationwide Tour. So getting to the final stage is key.

Q. How much does it cost to enter q-school?

A. Entry fees in 2010 for the PGA TOUR are as follows: first-stage qualifying is $4,500, second-stage qualifying is $4,000 and the finals is $3,500.

Q. Can you earn money at these q-school tournaments?

A. Only at the final stage. The medalist at the final stage receives $50,000, the runner-up gets $40,000 and the rest of the 25 new TOUR members and ties earn at least $25,000. Players earning exempt Nationwide Tour status earn $5,000 each.

Q. Can I watch the final stage of q-school on TV?

A. Yes, GOLF CHANNEL covers the final three days. The coverage on Dec. 4-5 runs from 1-4 p.m. each day while the final day's coverage on Dec. 6 runs from 12:30-4 p.m.

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